A new study in the journal Age suggests that eating red grapes and taking dietary supplement resveratrol may help patients with Alzheimer's disease and extend their lifespan.
D. Porquet from Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Centros de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED) in Barcelona, Spain and colleagues conducted research and found resverratrol supplements increased mean life expectancy and maximal life span in mice with age-related disease similar to Alzheimer's disease.
The finding should not be a surprise according to the researchers as prior research has shown resveratrol, a polyphenol mainly found in red grapes and red wine renders an effect that is similar to that of caloric restriction, which is known to increase animals' life-span through Sirtuin 1 (SIRT 1) activation.
Physiologically, resveratrol boosts metabolic rate, insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial biogenesis, and physical endurance in addition to reducing fat accumulation in mice, according to the authors.
Additionally, the red grape compound is also known to prevent age-related neurodegeneration and improve cognition in Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers conducted their study and also found resveratrol renders neuroprotective effects on several hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease and it can activate AMPK pathways and pro-survival routes including SIRT 1 in vivo, which explains why it can increase the animal's life-span.
Furthermore, Porquet et al. found resveratrol also reduces cognitive impairment, decreasing the amyloid deposit and reducing tau hyperphosphorylation, which all indicate that this red wine compound can help Alzheimer's disease.
Resveratrol, which may also benefit heart health, is available over the Internet as a dietary supplement.
This compound is perfectly safe.
It should be noted that drinking red wine to acquire resveratrol is not a good idea as alcoholic beverages are known carcinogens that can increase risk of cancers including breast cancer. T hat is, women in particularly need to avoid drinking wine, regardless of its color, to get resveratrol.
Alzheimer's disease is a major form of dementia that affects mostly men and women aged 65 years or older. There is no cure for the disease. The disease can eventually completely disable the patient and cause death.
